I don't love the revere pewter. But I really think it will be a few years before I get around to changing it. Mostly because this house needs sooooo much both big and small (kitchen remodel, bathroom remodel, haven't even found a desk for dh's "office" space yet, ds wants a different bed for his birthday, etc, etc.) and because I don't hate the color and it works well with the adjacent rooms, curtains and so on. So I was more or less thinking this would be a chance to play around with the tray ceiling without much commitment. I have never had one before so I don't have any experience to draw on for how to treat it. Since that part had to be painted anyway--at least touched up--I figured it might be an opportunity to try something out. Then if I don't love the effect, I can change it when I repaint the whole dining room. Creamy. Hmm. I like the sound of that, but I think it might be a bit of a trick to do the inside part of the tray creamy and not make the outside part just look like a dirty white. . . .

1. I belong to the school of thought that says crown molding should be a consistent colour throughout your home. Unless you have a lodge or cabin-type home, painted white, ecru, etc. is usually best. 2. Varying colours of white or varying strengths of paint on a vault or on the tiers of a tray ceiling give it an interesting depth. I personally don't care for tray ceilings that have some of the tiered surfaces or the sides of the tray painted with the wall colour or a contrasting strong colour. Just my opinion. 3. If you're considering painting the walls a darker colour at bottom that fades out towards the top, I can only assume you don't have a very formal dining room, although the dimensions you give would belie that. Your room size is nice and large, and a chair rail would not box anything in---it is really what one expects to see in a large dining room. It also allows you to "logically" paint one colour below the rail and another above. Good luck with your room!

I think it would be great to paint it a lighter shade. I'd suggest going with a soft shade of blue like BM silver cloud. Here are some images that might give you some ideas. You'll see that you can do any variation you want and it all works well. Here they put the crown on the edge of the tray to make the tray seem even more recessed. This ceiling is also a bead board and done in a contrast color. Here, they turned the whole bump from the lower ceiling up to the edge of the tray into a white ceiling color, giving the look of an extreme molding treatment. But they kept the tray color the same as the wall color. In this room, they painted the lower flat white and kept the upper flat the same as the room color. It lends a cozier feel to the space. But with the upper crown white as well, it is more stripe-y. This is a more modern look with no crown and the entire ceiling being done in a metallic, it makes the room far more horizontal vs. tall. Here's one without crown or color differentiation at all. Rather it's just the shape that defines the tray. Here's more like what you're talking about with the wall color blending up onto the lower flat to the upper crown, but with an accent color in the tray. This one is more coffered than tray, but will give you an idea of what pale blue can do to a ceiling. Here's a room where the wall color goes all the way to a crown at the upper flat. Only difference is they painted the upper flat darker rather than lighter. Here they painted the entire ceiling one color, molding and all. Here's a room without crown, wall color up to upper flat and pale ceiling.

Thank you both. I'm leaning towards painting it all the same color except the white trim just to make a decision though I don't looove the stripe-y look. Would it look weird to paint the wall and bottom tray Silver Chain (there is actually no crown below the bottom tray), then the first crown white, 2nd tray white, 2nd crown white and finally the ceiling silver chain? It'll basically be a large band of 1 white tray. I wish I could do a mockup but have no idea how!